watershed is home to an amazing variety of plants and animals. However, some species are threatened by pressure on their
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In the Grand River
watershed Bobolink
The Grand River watershed
Ph
oto
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in Tupman
(Dolichonyx oryzivorus)
Threatened in Onta
rio
The Bobolink is a medium-sized song bird that is found in grasslands and hayfields. During their summer breeding season, male Bobolinks are black with a white back and yellow collar. By late summer, males lose their breeding plumage to resemble the female’s tan colour with black stripes. Bobolink populations have declined significantly as pastures and hayfields have become less common. Special practices adopted by some farmers accommodate nesting bobolinks in hayfields.
Blanding’s Turtle (Emydoidea blandingii)
Watershed Range: Entire watershed where suitable habitat is found. A large population exists at Luther Marsh.
Threatened in Onta
rio
Watershed Range: Central and southern watershed.
Cerulean Warbler The Cerulean Warbler gets its name from the vivid blue coloration of the male warbler’s back and cheeks. This bird is found in mature to semi-mature Carolinian deciduous interior forests, and usually in the tree tops. The primary threat to the Cerulean Warbler is loss of habitat and forest fragmentation. Additionally, winter grounds in South America are under a high degree of risk from logging.
Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina)
The Snapping Turtle is Canada’s largest freshwater turtle, reaching an average length of 20-30 cm and a weight of 4.5-16.0 kg. This species is at great risk from moving vehicles while crossing roads. The snapping turtle is very slow and is not able to avoid traffic. In many areas, and especially urban areas, snapping turtle eggs are often eaten by raccoons and skunks.
is home to an amazing variety of plants and animals. However, some species are threatened by pressure on their habitats and in some cases, diseases, collection or road mortality. Historically, a total of 66 species at risk have been recorded within the watershed. Of these, 53 are dependent upon terrestrial or wetland habitats for their survival. SCIENTIFIC NAME
STATUS
Acadian Flycatcher
Empidonax virescens
Endangered
Bald Eagle
Haliaeetus leucocephalus
Special Concern
Barn Owl
Tyto alba
Endangered
Black Tern
Chlidonias niger
Special Concern
Bobolink
Dolichonyx oryzivorus
Threatened
Canada warbler
Wilsonia canadensis
Special Concern
Cerulean Warbler
Dendroica cerulea
Special Concern
Chimney swift
Chaetura pelagica
Threatened
(Chaetura pelagica)
Common nighthawk
Chordeiles minor
Special Concern
Golden-winged Warbler
Vermivora chrysoptera
Special Concern
The Chimney Swift is a small bird, about 12-14 centimetres long with a sooty brown body, long lean wings and a light-coloured throat. It is most often identified by its unique tell-tale acrobatic and erratic flight pattern. The Chimney Swift received its name because it often uses old chimneys as roosting and nesting sites. Historically, it is believed that Chimney Swift numbers were low, but following European settlement and increased establishment of chimneys, their number increased. The direct cause of the current decline of Chimney Swift is not clear. It may be attributed to a decline in food, or the modernization of chimneys that often include capping or rounded chimneys.
Henslow’s Sparrow
Ammodramus henslowii
Endangered
Hooded Warbler
Wilsonia citrina
Special Concern
King Rail
Rallus elegans
Endangered
Least Bittern
Ixobrychus exilis
Threatened
Loggerhead Shrike
Lanius ludovicianus
Endangered
Louisiana Waterthrush
Seiurus motacilla
Special Concern
Northern Bobwhite
Colinus virginianus
Endangered
Peregrine Falcon
Falco peregrinus
Threatened
Red-headed Woodpecker
Melanerpes erythrocephalus
Special Concern
Short-eared Owl
Asio flammeus
Special Concern
Whip-poor-will
Caprimlugus vociferus
Threatened
Yellow-breasted Chat
Icteria virens
Special Concern
American Badger
Taxidea taxus
Endangered
Grey Fox
Urocyon cinereoargenteus
Threatened
Woodland Vole
Microtus pinetorum
Special Concern
American Chestnut
Castanea dentata
Endangered
American Columbo
Frasera caroliniensis
Endangered
American Ginseng
Panax quinquefolius
Endangered
Bird’s-foot Violet
Viola pedata
Endangered
Broad Beech Fern
Phegopteris hexagonoptera
Special Concern
Butternut
Juglans cinerea
Endangered
Common Hoptree
Ptelea trifoliata
Threatened
Eastern Flowering Dogwood
Cornus florida
Endangered
Goldenseal
Hydrastis canadensis
Threatened
Green Dragon
Arisaema dracontium
Special Concern
Hill’s Pondweed
Potamogeton hillii
Special Concern
Large Whorled Pogonia
Isotria verticillata
Endangered
Virginia Mallow
Sida hermaphrodita
Endangered
Blanding’s Turtle
Emydoidea blandingii
Threatened
Butler’s Gartersnake
Thamnophis butleri
Threatened
Central Ratsnake (Carolinian population)
Pantherophis spiloides
Endangered
Eastern Hog-nosed Snake
Heterodon platirhinos
Threatened
Eastern Ribbonsnake
Thamnophis sauritus
Special Concern
Milksnake
Lampropeltis triangulum
Special Concern
Northern Map Turtle
Graptemys geographica
Special Concern
(Juglans cinerea)
Queensnake
Regina septemvittata
Endangered
Snapping turtle
Chelydra serpentina
Special Concern
Butternut is a medium-sized deciduous tree that can reach up to 25 metres in height, with a diameter of 75 centimetres. This species grows on a variety of sites, including dry rocky soils, but grows best on well-drained fertile soils in shallow gradually sloped valleys. A single tree may grow among other species, or it can be found in small groups. Butternut is endangered in Ontario, primarily because of a fungal disease called Butternut Canker, which can spread through the tree quickly, killing it in a few years.
Spiny Softshell
Apalone spinifera
Threatened
Spotted Turtle
Clemmys guttata
Endangered
Wood Turtle
Glyptemys insculpta
Endangered
Fowler’s Toad
Anaxyrus fowleri
Endangered
Jefferson Salamander
Ambystoma jeffersonianum
Threatened
Monarch
Danaus plexippus
Special Concern
o: J
ason
Cowan
COMMON NAME
ot Ph
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: Dan
ny Bales
(Dendroica cerulea)
Threatened in Ontario & Canada
The Blanding’s Turtle is a medium-size turtle that has a distinct yellow throat and chin, with a unique helmet-like domed shell. Habitat requirements include large, shallow wetlands or lakes with lots of plants. During the breeding season, you may find Blanding’s Turtles more than a hundred metres from the nearest water body, while they are searching for a mate or nesting site. The most significant threats to Blanding’s Turtle are loss of habitat, being hit by motor vehicles and nest predation by animals such as raccoons and foxes.
Watershed Range: Southern watershed in the interior of Carolinian forests.
in Special Concern da na Ca & io ar Ont
TAXONOMY
Watershed Range: Entire watershed, near and within marshes and water bodies.
Watershed Range: Urban areas. Known populations are found in the City of Guelph and the City of Cambridge.
Eastern Hog-nosed Snake
on Go
uld
(Heterodon platirhinos)
o: R
Threatened in Ontario & Canada
Birds
ot Ph
Ph
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: Geo
rge Peck
Chimney Swift
Threatened in Ontario & Canada
Red-headed Woodpecker
Milksnake
(Lampropeltis triangulum)
upman evin T o: K
It is clear how the Red-headed Woodpecker received its name. It is one of the easiest birds to identify with its red head, white underside and black and white wings. Still, it is rarely seen. It prefers open woodlands, woodland edges and oak savannas. These habitats contain a higher density of dead trees which they commonly use for nesting and perching. The Red-headed Woodpecker has declined more than 60 % in Ontario in the last twenty years, mostly due to less suitable habitat with fewer dead trees, but also because European Starlings compete for nesting sites.
ot Ph
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oto Ph
Mammals
Watershed Range: Central and southern watershed.
(Melanerpes erythrocephalus)
Ontario Special ConcernininCanada & Threatened
A non-venomous snake, the Eastern Hog-nosed Snake is thick, long (up to one metre), and has a distinctive upturned nose. It usually has attractive black and brown blotches, but sometimes it may appear dull as the blotches are not clear. Habitat requirements include sandy dry forests and beaches. A unique characteristic of this snake is that when it feels threatened it will coil up, flatten its head and neck and form a cobra-like hood. Occasionally when threatened it will strike, but always with its mouth closed. These defensive characteristics have caused the Eastern Hog-nosed Snake to be persecuted by people. In addition, it is threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation.
in Special Concernda na Ca & io ar Ont
Watershed Range: Entire watershed.
The beautifully marked Milksnake, which can grow up to one metre, has red blotches with black borders over a milky coloured base. It is the only snake in Ontario that is reddish. This unique colouration and its defensive action of shaking its tail have often resulted in this snake being mistaken for a rattlesnake. Suitable habitat includes old fields and farm buildings. During the day it can be found hiding under objects and in tall grasses and plants. During the night it can be seen hunting. The species is not venomous and captures its prey with its teeth and then subdues them by constriction. It eats small mammals and ground nesting birds. Human persecution and collection have been its main threats.
Plants
Watershed Range: Entire watershed where suitable habitat is found.
Reptiles
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MA CW Evans, River to River
Chris to: Pho
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Endangered in Ontario & Canada
Eastern Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida)
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Watershed Range: Entire watershed.
Endangered in Ontario & Canada
(Taxidea taxus)
Klafki
Endangered in Ontario & Canada
American Badger
ichard
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: MN
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Butternut
The only badger that lives in North America, the American Badger is a short, sturdy member of the weasel family. The American Badger has very distinct and well-known black and white striping on its face. Habitat for the badger includes tallgrass prairie, sand barrens and farmland. The primary threat to this species is habitat loss, but occasionally they are hit by motor vehicles. Watershed Range: Central and southern watershed.
Eastern Flowering Dogwood is a small Carolinian tree often found along forest edges, or in the understory of mid-aged forests. It is easily identified by its large showy white leaved flower. The bark is brownish-grey and is separated into corky scales. Eastern Flowering Dogwood is endangered in Ontario because of a fungus called Dogwood Anthracnose that attacks the leaves and then spreads through the branches and then the trunk. About 25 -75 % of infected trees will eventually die. Watershed Range: Norfolk and Haldimand counties (Carolinian forest zone).
What is a species at risk? Any naturally-occurring plant or animal in danger of extinction or of disappearing from the province. Species are periodically assessed and classified as “at risk” by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. This fact sheet is based on OMNR’s Species at Risk in Ontario list, which was last updated June 2011, and other information sources.
Amphibians Insect
This checklist does not include non-breeding species such as American White Pelican (Endangered) and vagrant species such as Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, which have also been recorded in the watershed.
Conservation and Management – Habitat Protection and Regulation Protection is afforded to species and/or their habitat through municipal, provincial and federal regulations. In 2010, Species at Risk Habitat Regulations were created under the Ontario Endangered Species Act. Regulated habitat may include areas where the species is found, has been found in the past, as well as areas that may be important to a species’ recovery. Habitat loss is the biggest threat to most vulnerable species. Therefore, protection, restoration and expansion of forests, wetlands, prairies and other habitats is essential.
What you can do: • • • • •
Plant trees and native plants Restore a prairie and support prescribed burning for habitat restoration Restore and plant natural buffers around wetlands Do not collect any native plants or animals from the wild Be aware of amphibian and bird breeding seasons (April-early July)
For more information on species at risk: • The GRCA Watershed Forest Plan • The Grand River Fisheries Management Plan • The Grand River Recovery Plan Provincial website: www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Business/Species Royal Ontario Museum: www.rom.on.ca/ontario Non-profit conservation organization: www.natureserve.org
Report sightings to the GRCA or MNR: Grand River Conservation Authority: www.grandriver.ca • (519) 621-2761 Ministry of Natural Resources: nhic.gov.on.ca • (519) 826-4955
© Copyright Grand River Conservation Authority, 2011. May not be reproduced or altered in any way. * These maps are compiled from numerous sources for illustrative purposes only and may not be complete or accurate. Any interpretations or conclusions drawn from these maps are the sole responsibility of the user.
